I thought Tedinski had a good idea... I have never introduced myself either.
I'm a native of Chapel Hill, NC. My first profession was on the water. After commercial fishing, crewing on old wooden vessels, and working as a stevedore, I ended up Mate on the Tug Whitefoot. That was just after they served as the priinciple film platform for Jaw I. We never did the same kind of work twice. Pedro got to hear some of my Tug Whitefoot stories at MAHHA. I stopped doing that to go to school; became a Chemical Engineer and worked for Raytheon Engineers in Pharma & Biotech. Worked in Biotech until about 3 years ago.
I turned my first vocation into my avocation: for 16 years our little family sailed together aboard a Swedish HR Rasmus, with several offshore passages. Had to sell that 33 year old vessel when my wife was diagnosed with MS, and lost her agility. That's when I decided we should abandon the coast and head for the hills. Bought a surplus military hammock, froze the first night, then found HF and learned how to do it right. Now both kids are hangers. For my wife, we have a 1982 13' Scamp.
I learned how to sew long ago on traditional sailing vessels with canvas sails and manilla running rigging. We made nearly everything in Hervey Garret Smith's Arts of the Sailor. Without a vessel, there has been no need for those services... until now! I've been self employed since I left Raytheon 20 years ago, and I love making gear!
In 2008, my daughter, Thing1, and I traveled through 20 states, heading out to Yellowstone via the Badlands, and returning via Arizona. HF has provided me even more opportunities to see things I've never seen before. More than making gear, I love to travel!
- MacEntyre
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